ELC 2021-22 Basic Information Sheet

Proposed 3-Year Old Preschool

Funding: Parent Pay, Head-Start, CCAP 

Structure Options: Half-day every day or 3-day full days

Staffing: Head-start qualified teachers; paraprofessionals

Instructional Considerations: Creative Curriculum and Kindness Curriculum will be used. Spanish read-alouds and oral language Development will accompany each unit of study. Coaching will be provided for teachers.

Summary of Public Survey Results So Far: Approximately 35 parents have expressed interest, with all day every day being the most popular option and 3-day full-day programming being the next most popular option. We plan to open up registration in April.

Proposed Cost: $325-$550 per month depending on program model

Note: 3-year-old preschool programming will not utilize state-wide voluntary preschool funds or funds related to the 4-year-old preschool program

Click Here to Access the 3-year-old Preschool Survey

4-Year-Old Preschool

Funding: Statewide voluntary preschool, Head-Start, Parent-Pay

**note:  statewide voluntary preschool funds only at .50 for each student enrolled expecting a minimum of 10 hours of instruction by a certified early childhood teacher 

Structure Options: 5 day programming (full or half-day): children will have a co-taught play-based learning experience between a teacher with state approved early childhood certification and a teacher that is qualified under Head Start guidelines. Paraprofessionals will assist in all classrooms. Students that qualify for Special Education services will be served by a dual certified Special Education/Early Childhood teacher for the full day if they participate in full-day programming. Please note that students served in Special Education qualify for half-day preschool like all students and have access to full-day programming through parent-pay or Head Start qualification.

Instructional Considerations: Creative Curriculum and Second Step SEL Curriculum will be used. Spanish read-alouds and oral language development will accompany each unit of study.

Costs: Half-day programming is free and provided through state-wide voluntary preschool. For families that choose full-day programming, the cost of the wrap-around portion of the day will be re-evaluated but will likely fall between $350-$380 per month or the cost will be covered for families that qualify for HeadStart. 

Current Issue to Consider: Statewide voluntary preschool only funds participating students at .50 for each child enrolled. This does not provide sufficient funding for all-day preschool with a state-certified teacher. 

But...voices Matter! If you would like to share your voice with your legislators, here are some talking points to consider:

  • Early childhood is one of the most important times in a child’s life. Children who participate in play-based preschool utilizing a research-based curriculum through the ages of 3-5 tend to show increased learning readiness and self-regulation skills, outperform students that did not attend preschool on 3rd grade reading assessments, exhibit increased relationship and communication skills

  • English Learners that participate in preschool tend to show increased oral language development over those that do not attend and show increased average scores on language proficiency assessments in Kindergarten

  • Iowa has been a leader in providing preschool-for all but we need to step it up: we are seeing several states outrank us in early education and most developing countries provide full-day preschool for 3-5 year old children and the results are positive 

Additional Resources: 

Click here for an article on early education in the US, including a rating system of states’ early education processes and programs

Click here to learn more about SF 131: Statewide Voluntary Preschool Funding Structures

Click here to learn more about SF 132: Funding bill for preschool to work to accommodate possible enrollment loss due to COVID-19

Click here to track educational legislation happening in Iowa

Of course, we are not advocating particular political viewpoints, but if you would like to contact your legislators on behalf of early learning, you may do so by clicking here. Tim Goodwin and David Kerr are our representatives to contact.